Ill come back for you
by lorddemise
Summary: River doesn't sleep much, she hasn't since she was rescued from the Alliance "school" by her brother. A promise made to a friend is keeping her up at night, a friend she lost forever. Or did she?
1. Chapter 1

A/N – I do not own the story, characters, or content of _Firefly _and _Serenity._ They are owned by the brilliant mind of Mr. Joss Whedon and the idiots who were crazy enough to cancel him.

Chapter 1

_I'll come back for you, I promise..._

The whispers of the night were keeping River up later than usual. The steady hum of the engines and the eerie quiet at this hour weren't helping any. She doubted even Wash was up at this hour, the ship probably on auto pilot for the time being, him spending a few hours with his wife in bed. Simon and Kaylee were already fast asleep in their own bunks, and she didn't think of waking Jayne or the Captain. Inara and the Shepherd might provide some company, but it wasn't really company she was after, more someone to keep the voices away, and even they couldn't do that.

Every time she started to drift, the images and words would come, like they were a river and her mind was the dam. They would flood in through any crack, any hole they could find in the dam and eventually they would simply burst through. She hated when this happened, because she wasn't herself when that dam was as if she were watching someone else take control of her body. She had flashes, like pictures; deep her mind of the memories of what would happen. But they were only flashes, as if they were memories saved on a computer, but not really hers. She glanced up at the clock kept on the wall. _0335_, it read. It was set to Universal time, the same time as every clock in the entire universe that used the Universal time system. Most everyone did, for some reason or another. Regardless, it was 3:35 in the morning and she had not slept a wink….for 3 days. She closed her eyes again, trying to summon sleep.

_She took a deep breath, breathing in the wonderful bliss of the flowers around her. They smelled simply like heaven, and tickled her nose. She laughed the first laugh she managed in a long time, not since she left home. It was all fake, she knew. The flowers were artificially grown in an Alliance greenhouse not far from here, and then placed here for decoration. The smell and pollen they gave off were fake too. She didn't care, for once, she was enjoying the moment. _

_It was a rare day at the Alliance school, a free day. For once, there were no lessons today, and all the children were allowed to do whatever they wished. Some took the opportunity to catch up on studies, some were playing sports on the school grounds, and River was just enjoying the beauty that surrounded her, even if it was artificial. _

_The one thing that wasn't was the boy sitting next to her. Tall for his age and handsome to match, Bryndon was from Londinium, one of the central planets in the Alliance. He wore his blonde hair shaggy and his bright green eyes were always wide. He often joked about the government and spent hours debating with River about politics. This is why she enjoyed his company, he didn't believe the Alliance's propaganda anymore then she did. _

"_And another thing", he continued, his rant going on for about 20 minutes now, "the Reavers are real, my friend! As real as the…well not the air we breathe, but you get the point. It isn't just a fairy tale to scare kids into behaving. My dad says he saw a pack once, eatin' each other alive he said. Gruesome bunch, them. Why, when we play Alliance vs. Reavers on the playground, how come nobody wants to be the Reavers? Cause they cannibals, that's why! You believe it River? Eatin' each other and what not? River?"_

"River?" the eyes looking at her now were not Bryndon's green but her brother, Simon's, tell-tale gray. His dark hair was cut neat and short and he was shirtless. He often spent a lot of nights late in the lab, working on a medicine to cure her. It showed in the dark circles under his eyes. "River, I just came in to check on you. Why are you crying? Did you have a bad dream?" Even through the tears, she couldn't help but smile. Simon, always treating her like she was still a little girl.

"I'm fine Simon, just a bad dream like you said." After a moment he nodded. He kissed her forhead and hugged her until she stopped crying. Well, she may not be a little girl anymore, but that doesn't mean she didn't enjoy hugs from her brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"We're goin' where!" Jayne said, staring wide eyed at what the Captain had just said. They were all gathered around the dining table finishing dinner. The conversation had been merry, as usual, until Mal revealed where they would be going for their next job.

"You heard me all right, Jayne, I said we're goin' to Bellerophon." The Captain continued eating as if he hadn't said anything out of place, and River would have been able to read the minds of the crew even if she wasn't psychic.

"Uh, Mal?" Jayne said "I don't know if you heard what came out of your mouth, but it sounded a lot like you said Bellerophon."

"Yeah" Mal muttered through a mouth full of potatoes "that's what I said, ain't it?"

"So, you do realize that Bellerophon is right in the middle of Alliance territory right?"

"I'd be a poor Captain if I didn't, what's your point?" Silence dominated the room, the only sound being Mal chewing on his dinner.

"I don't know if you been sick or somethin'" Jayne leaned forward to emphasize his concern "but we and the Alliance…ain't exactly givin' each other free hugs" Mal looked around the table as if none of this was important, wondering why Jayne was making a big deal out of it.

"I'm pretty aware of this Jayne. Alliance: bad, us: good. Well, not good, but the lesser of two evils." Again, silence was all to be heard.

"Well, okay then. Would you please tell me if I'm maybe missing something important here, cause I don't want to be the only one who's lost"

"You ain't the only one" Wash said, planting his chin in his hand and leaning his elbow on the table. Even Zoe, who usually fully agreed with the Captain, was staring at him wide eyed.

"I don't rightly know what you could be missin'. We're going to Bellerophon, we do the job, we get paid, we leave. Same ol' story."

"I don't think I would count Bellerophon as a 'same old' planet, Mal" Jayne was starting to turn red with frustration, as if the Captain simply wasn't getting it.

"Look, we been tangled up with outlaws, hooligans, refugees, thieves, murderers, and the like before. I don't see how this is any different."

"Well for one" Simon added "I think we can trust those 'hooligans' a hell of a lot farther then we can trust anyone from the Alliance"

"For once I agree with the Doc," Jayne said, surprising himself "it ain't shiny with me Mal."

Mal stood up from the chair and tucked his thumbs into his belt, the way he always did when he was about to make a speech to his crew. "I know, it ain't very shiny with me either. But gorramit we ain't got a decent haul in near 7 months. Our food's low, our supplies is low, we need fixin, and we need gas, not to mention I expect ya'll want to get paid sometime this year. Bellerophon is about close to last on my list of favorite planets, but we need the work 'cause we need the money. If I was to tell ya' that it was gonna' be a cake walk, you could call me a liar and not be speakin' an untrue word. Just 'cause there ain't likely to be shootin' don't mean we won't be in danger. Once we land, we are in Alliance territory. So, keep your head on a swivel, talk to nobody you don't have to, we all may just get out of here a couple bucks richer and with our lives."

It was difficult to argue with Mal's motivational speeches, and the crew settled back down, reducing their complaints to inaudible grumblings. "Well now that that's settled" Mal left the table toward his quarters and they finished their dinner in near silence. River could hear the buzz of thoughts going on in each of their minds and knew that this was going to be an interesting trip. He said his parents were from Bellerophon, if she remembered right. "Yes" she said aloud "his father was a…."

"…_a soldier River! In the Alliance armies! I swear if he had ever made it back alive, I would never have forgiven him!" They were walking to class together, as they usually did, Bryndon having to slow his step down even as River was quickening hers. He was so much taller than she was , one of his steps was almost 3 of hers. When the teachers weren't around, there were times he would just carry her on his back so she wouldn't have to keep up. _

_"You would not, Bryndon Sandos! Your father may have been fighting for the Alliance, but he died fighting for something he believed in, which is still honorable." He snorted at that. He thought his father fought for the wrong side in the war. River saw it a different way. Even though she didn't believe in the Alliances propaganda, she thought it was heroic to go off fighting for a cause you truly believed in. Albert Sandos was one of the handful of Alliance soldiers who were not forced into fighting, he volunteered. His name was on the list of names that died in the war, at the Battle of Serenity Valley. _

_"Yeah, well after that me and Mom moved to Londinium. She tried to shove her prim and proper down my throat and we ain't got along since. She sent me here as a last resort, hopin' they could brainwash me or somethin'. Well, this here is one brain that don't need washin', and I think I talk just fine thank you very much!" Actually, Bryndon was talking more like a Browncoat than a child of the Alliance, but it was part of his charm, so River just laughed._

And laughed, and laughed. It was a long while before she realized she was back in her bed, laughing at the ceiling. She sat up to see Simon running a wash cloth under water in the sink. He turned to see her up and smiled. "Hey, River. Feeling ok?" He walked over to her and placed the cloth on her head, the cool water soothing her.

"Fine. Just dizzy"

"I can imagine. You had quite an episode. Started muttering something about the war and screaming some boys name over and over, then you started laughing and now you're here."

"Was it Bryndon?" she said.

"The boys name? Yes, I believe so. Why? Is he important?" His smile beamed at her, his concern for nothing else in the world touched her and calmed her down. She knew how he felt about Kaylee, but still he focused all his love, all his affection on her. It shouldn't be that way, it wasn't right that he placed himself over her. It wasn't right that he came for her and she left Bryndon behind. It wasn't right.

"It wasn't right. It wasn't supposed to happen that way." She was crying again and she could barely hear Simon trying to soothe her. "We made a promise, Simon! We made each other a promise!"

"Shhhhh, shhhh, it's ok River it's ok." He hugged her tight and rocked her back and forth slowly, her sobs shaking them both. "Whatever you promised him, I'm sure you'll fulfill once we're out of this mess. I know you River; you would never break a promise." She could hear his thoughts slipping toward giving her a sedative again, and she tried to force herself calm. She didn't like sleeping with the nightmares and the pictures and the memories that weren't hers. "I tell you what" Simon said "when we land on Bellerophon, we can look him up. There is a directory there with an archive of every family originating on Belleropon. During your rambling you mentioned he was from there, or rather his family was." He pulled away from her and smiled. "Sound like a plan?" River nodded, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. Simon always looked after her, and made her feel special. She would pay him back someday, somehow. But first, she had to keep her promise to Bryndon. That was, if she could find him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_She always studied hard when she was in class, but today, there was a distraction. SOMEONE kept throwing paper balls at her head. She kept trying to catch Bryndon in the act, but every time she looked back at him he was looking off in the distance, whistling to himself. She would try to ignore it, and then the attacks would grow more severe. She would retaliate, but she wasn't as sly as he was. The teacher never caught him, and often blamed it on River that there were paper balls everywhere around her desk. So she dutifully picked them up and would throw them away later, fuming at him. But she could never stay mad at him for long; he was too good a friend. Again, another ball hit her in the EXACT same spot that they all did. But this time, when she looked back, he was staring right at her. He pointed to the ball and made a smoothing out motion. He was mouthing words to her; she thought he had said 'read it'. So, she turned back around in her seat, smoothed out the paper, and read._

"_River,_

_Meet me after class by the lake. We need to talk._

_Bryndon"_

_Curious. They almost always met up after class by the huge lake set aside in the garden. She wondered why this was so important. _

_After class, she went to the lake to find him there, as usual, skipping rocks across the surface. He had taught her a trick to it once. It wasn't how hard you threw the rock that mattered with distance. It was the angle and the spin. You didn't have to throw it very hard to make it go far; you just had to give it the right trajectory. He had then made fun of her for 2 weeks for not already knowing that. He was a little smarter than her, especially when it came to physics, and it drove her mad. But, like she said, she could never stay mad at him for long. _

_She walked up next to him, picking up the flattest rock she could find, and waited for him to skip his rock. _1, 2, 3, 4…..10, 11 skips_. She nodded her head, and threw her rock, giving it the trajectory he had taught her._1, 2, 3, 4, …8, 9 skips_. That got a chuckle out of him, and she expected a session of telling her how much better than her he was at this. Instead, he just stared out at the lake. "So, what was so important? You finally decided to shave your head? All that weight of your hair keeping your brain from working?" She smiled, and then stopped when she saw how serious he looked. "Bryndon? What's going on?" He looked down on her then and she could see he was crying. _

_"They…they called me into the office this morning..the teachers did. They told me that my mother had gotten my last report. 'Exceptionally bright, potential beyond measure, but no willingness to learn'. My mother, apparently, saw this as all hope being lost for me. She proceeded to pull out my father's old pistol, and paint the walls of her apartment with her blood and brains. She's dead River."_

"_Oh Bryndon, I'm so sorry." She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her away. _

_"Yeah, she may have been a massive pain in my ass, but she was still my Mom. They offered to pull me out of school, send me to go live with a relative to mourn, but I decided to stay. Who knows? They may get a little prim and proper out of me yet." It wasn't until then that River noticed he was taking pains to attempt normal speech, instead of his usual Browncoat-like slang. "But while I was in the office, I saw something on the Dean's desk. A permission form, with your name all over it. It said something like 'Request permission to perform extra lessons with student, River Tam, with the approval of the Alliance.' I don't know what that means exactly, River, but it can't be good. If I were you, I would be very careful." _

_"Ok, I will, thanks. Bryndon, are you sure you'll be ok?" He smiled his most winning smile at her and offered her his hand. _

_"As long as I have you, River, no power in the 'verse can stop me". She took his hand and laughed, walking with him down the edge of the lake to their favorite spot. The sun went down in the sky and in the reflection of the lake long before they parted company, hand in hand the entire time."_

_-DING- _"This is your Captain speaking. I hope you have all enjoyed your trip to beeeeeautiful Bellerophon. Next time you are a fugitive from the law traveling to a buzzing Alliance planet, it would be our pleasure to bring you right back here flying _Serenity_ air. Don't bother tipping your stewardess, she makes enough already whoring." River couldn't help but chuckle at that. Malcolm Reynolds may be a lot of things, but dull he most defiantly wasn't. She got up and walked across her room, her bare feet covering the cold, metal floor. She opened her door to find Simon poised to knock, hand still frozen in mid-air.

"Oh" he said, awkwardly lowering his hand. You would think he would be used to this sort of thing by now "good, you're up. Captain says we got a few hours until his job goes down and he doesn't see why he would need me until then, you want to go see some of Bellerophon?"

"No, I think I will stay here"

"Really?" Simon asked, placing his hand on her forehead. "Are you sick? You don't feel warm."

"I'm fine" she said, pulling away from him "just tired, don't sleep much."

"Well, what about your friend?"

"It's ok; I'll figure something else out. Go enjoy Bellerophon, I will be fine." He nodded and walked back down the hallway. "Simon?" she called after him. He turned back to her. "Go buy something nice for Kaylee." She closed the door, but not before she saw the look of shock on his face. She smiled and walked across the room, again feeling the cold metal under her bare feet.

She opened up the drawer next to her bed and pulled out a small wooden box. On the lid there was a combination lock. She entered the combination and the lid slid open, revealing a small, metal object about the size of her palm. There was a display screen in the center and a key in the shape of a heart sticking in the side. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and turned the key.

"_And then you turn the key, and presto! You will always know when I'm around." The screen was pulsing rapidly green and Bryndon was grinning from ear to ear. "I made it that night, you know? The night I found out about my mom. I figured if you ever wanted to find me after they get done with their 'extra lessons', you just have to turn the key and you'll know where I'm at. I think, given a little tinkering, you can broaden it out to a whole planet, or narrow it down to within 10 feet of where I'm standing. So if we ever end up separated, you can find out what planet I'm on, and work from there." _

_"Bryndon, this is genius! How did you make it work?" _

_"I got it set to track my blood, I put a couple drops of it in the sensor there, and when the sensor finds a match to my DNA pattern, it pulses." _

_"Well, can you change the key at least? I don't think a sword is exactly my style." Bryndon snorted at her. _

_"Ok, I'll try to make it something more girly for you. But I'm not making it a heart, or anything like that!"_

The screen was blank. The key that was in the shape of a heart was set to the 'Planet' position. So, he was not on the planet. Letting out the breath she had been holding, River placed the device back in the box and closed the lid. She left it on her dresser and plopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was so lost in thought about the past she didn't notice the charge on the device had gone dead long ago. Now that it had time to warm up, and the battery had recharged, the screen was pulsing a slow, steady green.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So, job's done?" Mal said as he counted the money again, not believing he'd actually gotten paid that much for a job so easy.

"Yep." the man across from him said. "You brought me who I wanted you to bring me, you get paid, end of story."

"I like your style, buddy. Maybe we can do business again sometime."

"Yeah, maybe. I like your style too, don't ask too many questions. Most other people I tried to hire were asking who he was and why I wanted him and all kinds of other. Not you though, you just take the job, do it, and leave. Pretty classy."

Mal smiled when he was finished counting the payout. Enough to keep his crew in the air for a year fairly comfortably. "I'm a classy kinda guy. I figure the less I know, the less I have to testify to. Keeps things simple for both of us."

"I'll keep you in mind if I get a job a little more interesting, the pay would be better too. Keep your ears open for me, Captain Reynolds." The gentleman raised his drink in toast. Mal smiled, clinking his own glass against it.

"That I will do, Mr. Sandos. To profitable futures for us both."

"I'll drink to that" he said, and did just that, draining his drink in one swig. "Now if you don't mind, Captain, I gotta get my cargo off this planet, and I'm sure you need to do the same. My men will escort you to your ship, with a full load of supplies, and get you clearance to launch."

"Well, that's mighty neighborly of ya. Thanks, if you ever need anything from _Serenity_ or her crew, you give us a holler." With that, the men parted ways. Mal to take his earnings and his good news back to the ship, the gentleman to take his prisoner back to Londinium.

"Captain!" Shepherd Book was waiting on _Serenity's_ entrance ramp. "I pray for your safe return, and here you are. God surely is gracious, my friend."

"I don't know much about God" Mal said, watching the gentleman's men load his pay and supplies into the ship "but Mr. Albert J. Sandos Jr., now he's gracious. Paid what he promised and then some, and gave us his men to load us up with supplies. Job was damn easy too, just had to find some fella and bring him back to him. Guy was pretty compliant too, no hussle, no fight, no nothin'. Almost makes me feel bad." Just then, the men began loading the rest of the money onboard.

"Well, almost." Mal said smiling. They headed back into the cargo area, where the men were finishing loading up. River was watching from her usual perch on the stairs, barefoot and clad in a simple dress.

"You'll catch your death like that, it's chilly out." River just stared at him for a moment, and then continued watching the men. "Ok, then. Well, as I was saying, this guy is defiantly going on my list of people I'd come to Bellerophon for, and that is a mighty short list. In fact, pretty sure he's the only one on it."

"This Mr. Sandos must have been quite the character to fall into your good graces, Captain."

"Oh yeah, me and him, we see eye to eye. He even called me classy. Imagine-" He was cut off by River almost running him over, she appeared so suddenly he was knocked off balance by her stare.

"What did you say, Shepherd?"

"I-I said he must have been quite a character-" he began, startled as Mal was.

"No, what was his name?"

"Uh, Sandos. Albert Sandos. You wanna watch where you're goin, little vermin?" Mal said, brushing himself off. "Why, you know him?" He turned and River was gone. The Shepherd shrugged. "I swear, that little girl is gonna be the death of me."

"God gives us no challenge he does not believe we can overcome, Captain"

"Well I wish God expected just a little damn less outta me" He said, grimacing "Come on, let's get this cargo on and get ready, I wanna be outta here before my luck changes on me."

River didn't hear anything the Captain had said after the man's last name. She ran all the way to her room, bursting into the door. She ran over to her dresser, and hurriedly punched in the combination, messing it up 3 times before she got it. She almost tore off the lid, and instantly her face was washed with a steady, pulsing green light. She stared at it for a few moments, her emotions in a whirl. She lifted it carefully, as if it would stop pulsing if she was to rough with it. She turned the key to the next lowest slot, territory. The light stopped for a second and continued pulsing. She turned it to the next slot, region. Again, the light kept pulsing, stronger and faster now. She turned to the next slot, city. Still, the light pulsed.

Holding her breath, she turned it to the second-to-last slot, surrounding area. The light stopped pulsing. She cursed aloud to herself. He was in the city, but not close by. This was a big city; there was no way she would find him by the time the Captain had his cargo loaded and was ready for takeoff. She laid the device on her bed and stared at it, her arms folded over her chest, thinking. "Where are you Bryndon?" she asked it. As if on cue, the screen began pulsing again. Weak at first, but steadily growing stronger and more rapid. Wide eyed, she picked it back up. He was coming closer.

And closer. And closer. She squealed in delight, bolting out of the room and back down to the cargo bay. She raced past Mal and the Shepherd, ignoring their complaints of watching where she was going. Stronger now, almost solid green it was pulsing so fast. She switched it to the lowest setting, immediate area, and the light slowed, but was still growing more rapid. She ran toward the entrance of the hanger. A door opened and a group of men walked through, one in the lead, and four more surrounding a tall man with a black hood over his head. As they came closer, the light was stronger, faster. They walked past and the light reached its peak, pulsing furiously.

"Bryndon?" she said. The man at the lead stopped and turned his head toward her. "Bryndon, is it you?"

He looked down at her curious. She was crying again, but she didn't care. If it was him…if it was really him. "I'm sorry, young lady, you have the wrong person. My name is Albert. Whoever this Bryndon is, he isn't here." She read his thoughts and knew he was lying. But not about his name, just that Bryndon wasn't with them. She didn't recognize any of the other men. She stared at the device, deep in thought. And then it hit her, like a wave. This Albert was taller than her, but not much. Bryndon had always been tall, even for his age. She walked up to the man in the hood and ripped it off.

"Hey!" Albert started "Don't you touch him! I swear if he gets away it'll-" The rest was drowned out in a haze. Looking straight down at her was a very familiar pair of bright green eyes.

"Bryndon?" He nooded. "Bryndon, it's me, River." Again he nodded, but those bright, green eyes showed no hint of recognition. "Remember, Bryndon? The school?" He just stared at her and she felt herself being pulled away.

"Mighty sorry about that, Mr. Sandos." Mal pulled her by the shoulders toward the cargo bay of _Serenity. _ "Unpredictable little spitfire, ain't she?"

The man frowned at her. "Well, I guess it's ok. Girl thought she recognized an old classmate is all. No harm done. You take care of yourself now Captain, may we cross paths again, the 'verse be willing". River was practically dragged back to the ship by her shoulders, but not before she caught the tall, green eyed man look back at her, and wink.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_She followed the pulsing green screen across the school grounds to find Bryndon once again by the lake, skipping rocks. _

"_I see you are getting good use out of that thing. Hope the new key isn't too boyish for you." The key had been changed to a heart after all, and Bryndon refused to change it, but continued mocking her for it. "Done with your 'extra lessons'?"_

"_Yeah" River said, joining him by the lake. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be learning though. All they do is stick me in a strange room and put me to sleep. I wake up with nothing but a headache."_

"_Maybe they're brainwashing you. Making you into some kinda zombie or something" he made a show of pretending to be a zombie, even acting like he was eating her brains. _

"_Yeah right" she said, pushing him off and giggling "next thing you know I'm going to be a member of Parliament, waving the Alliance flag"_

"_Won't that be a sight?" He said. "River, if they are doing anything to you that you don't like, you tell me. Okay?"_

"_Okay. We should make a secret language, so they don't know what we say to each other. How about, if I think they are doing something bad to me, I'll wave at you with both hands, palms toward me, like this" She demonstrated for him. "And if everything is Ok, I'll wink" She winked at him._

"_Sounds good to me."_

"Everything is Ok" she whispered to herself, hugging her knees to her chest and staring at the device. It had long ago stopped pulsing, but she couldn't bring herself to put it away. "That's what the wink meant, everything is Ok." She smiled, her tears flowing down her cheeks. "He's Ok. He's Ok." She said this to herself again and again until she fell asleep. For once, she didn't dream.

"I'm worried about River" Simon said at the dinner table as the crew was finishing up some of the food that Sandos' men had given them. "She made a fuss over some boy, refused to come look for him when we landed, and then that whole episode with Mr. Sandos and his prisoner."

"Yeah" Mal said "well, she thought he was a classmate, and Mr. Sandos was forgiving enough. Besides, that girl does enough weird stuff around here without me worryin' over every bit of it. Pass the beans, Wash?"

"It's just not like her, is all. She never mentioned any boy to me, and she tells me everything. I think he really is important to her. And what if that was him, and Sandos just has him drugged out or brainwashed or something?"

"That sounds like a whole hell of a lot like not my gorram problem, Doc. If you want to go hold her till she's done cryin, be my guest. But I don't have the time, nor the snuggly feel goods to be playin big brother to her."

"I wasn't aware you had any snuggly feel goods, Sir" Zoe added, and Walsh had to fight hard to keep juice from spurting everywhere.

"Haha, very funny. I'm chock full of hugs and sunshine. They outta make a teddy bear outta me." The banter continued on until dinner and clean up was all done, but Simon stayed behind, lost in thought.

"Simon?" Kaylee was walking through on her way to bed and noticed him sitting in the dark. "Whatcha doin' sittin' here all by your lonesome? You outta' be headin' to bed, we had quite an interestin' day."

"I just worry so much about River, you know. She's never behaved like that before with anybody. Yeah, she has her episodes, but those are usually just her memories of the school acting up. Never with another person like that. Am I being too protective?"

"Of course not, she's your sister ain't she?" Kaylee smiled at him "But she ain't a little girl no more, she can take plenty care of herself, even with her episodes. Go to bed, Simon, she'll be fine."

"_I'll be fine" River said, shaking and tearing up again. She had had another nightmare, this one really bad. Normally, she would stay in her room until she could fall asleep again. But she had woken up screaming and ran all the way to Bryndon's room. He spent the next several minutes comforting her, and she was now a lot calmer, but still very shaky._

"_Yeah you will be, but you aren't now, so you're staying right here."_

"_But you can at least sleep on your own bed; I'll sleep on the floor"_

"_Nonsense" He said, finishing up laying his extra blankets on the floor. "you need rest, and you aren't going to get it laying on this floor. Besides, I'm not getting in there with you and your fits. It sucks that you have nightmares, but I am not getting hit in the face because you wanted some comfort."_

_She snorted at him. "I'll hit you in the face anyway, nightmares or no. Bryndon, I don't know what they are doing to me in there, but I didn't have these nightmares until they started it."_

"_Think you'll live through it?" he raised an eyebrow at her, sitting next to her on the bed. She thought for a moment, and then, smiling, gave him a wink. "Ha, Ok then. If you're sure." His green eyes looked down on her then, a spark passing across them. "River, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." He reached out and stroked her cheek, cleaning the tears that ran down it. She stared at him wide eyed; a sudden flutter in her stomach rose up, like she was going to throw up. Except it was nice, comforting, and warm. He laid his forehead on hers._

"_River" he whispered "may I kiss you?" She swallowed hard and nodded. Slowly, almost as if he were afraid, he came closer. His lips touched hers and the flutter in her stomach exploded into a blazing inferno. The kiss was short, if very passionate, and had her nearly begging for another. It was her first kiss, and it was magical. "I think maybe I will sleep here" he said, making himself comfortable in the bed next to her. She turned so her back was to him, like she used to with her father when she was scared and slept in her parent's bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. She slept well the rest of the night._

"Londinium? Haven't we had enough Alliance planet visits for one lifetime?" the Captain had answered her request to meet on the bridge, and listened dutifully to what she had to say, until she got to where she wanted to go. "I'm real sorry that you lost your little friend, darlin'. Truly I am. But Londinium ain't happenin', not now, not ever if I can help it. Bad enough I had to go to Bellerophon, thank Shepherd's God that went well, but now you wantin' me to go to Londinium. No way, sugar."

"Captain Reynolds, please. It isn't very far from our current path. You can sell some of the supplies Sandos gave us that you don't need, lighten your load and get some more money. All I'm asking for is a day. If I don't find Bryndon we can leave, and all you will have lost is one day."

"One day to damn many, sugar. I enjoy a good ole romance as much as the next guy, but Londinium is out of the question. No way in Hell"

"You would do as much for Inara" she said "you would make the trip to rescue her from the Alliance prison itself. But you won't even give me one day to see an old classmate? I thought you had honor, Captain. I can see I was mistaken."

She turned to go, all but storming out. "Wait" she paused at the door. "Wash, turn the ship toward Londinium. Gorramit, girl, I ain't lettin' you make me the bad guy. You got one day, hear me? One day and whether you're back or not, I'm takin' off. Got it?"

She ran to him and hugged him. "Thank you, Captain."

"Yeah, yeah, easy on the gratitude. Well, Wash? Don't just sit there snickering at me. You're the pilot, so get to piloting!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_She ran through the school grounds and across the field into the Spaceport. She flew through all the security posted and dashed straight into the gate where the shuttle waited. Bryndon was waiting by the entrance ramp for it to lower and let him on. "Bryndon!" she yelled across the hanger and sprinted to him. "Bryndon! Wait, Bryndon!" He turned to her and was nearly tackled when she flew into his chest and embraced him. "I don't want you to go"_

"_I know, River" He stroked her hair soothingly, but that didn't stop her from starting to sob. "I know, and I'm sorry. But my brother left for the Army, and my sisters both went off to study trades. That means I'm the only member of my family with no career set, so I have to go home and look after things."_

"_No you don't. You said yourself, you hate your family. You can stay here, who will protect me from them when you aren't here?"_

"_I may hate them, River, but they are still my family. I have to take care of them. I can't keep your nightmares away, River. I could only offer comfort after them." He smiled down at her "If I can, I will come back for you someday." _

_She wiped her tears on his shirt. "Promise?" _

_He pulled her up to him and kissed her, deep and passionate. Her whole body went numb and nothing else in the 'verse mattered to her except that one moment. "River, I love you. As long as you are in my heart, nothing can keep me away from you." He whispered against her lips. He kissed them again. "I'll come back for you, I promise". He was pulled away from her then and lead toward the entrance ramp. He climbed into the ship and took one last look back. She waved to him with both hands, palms facing her, their code for 'something is wrong'. He only smiled a weak smile and mouthed to her. 'No power in the 'verse can stop me'._

"Over the next few years, Bryndon Sandos would try to start a rebellion against the Alliance. It was easily smothered, but Bryndon would escape" River listened to the recording she found in the ships archive, searching for Brydon's name. "His brother, Albert Jr., would spend his time after Army training searching for his brother, so far with no success." _Well this record is inaccurate_. River thought, closing out the archive. They were about to land on Londinium. She turned on the tracker and it immediately started pulsing when they landed. _Soon, Bryndon, soon_.

"The Alliance wants his head" Mal said to her as she was about to leave. "Now, normally, I disagree with anything the Alliance wants just on principal. But sugar, I think this time they may have a point. If your buddy ain't dead already, he's fixin' to be."

"You agreed to one day, Captain. If he's dead, it will take less. I see no reason why this is relevant. Unless you actually care for me and don't want to see me heartbroken." That shut the Captain up, and she left the ship in search of Bryndon.

"I hope you know what you are doing, kid" Mal said, returning to his ship.

_The nightmares continued for River after Bryndon left, getting worse the more the Alliance did their experiments. The only thing that got her through was the letters. The coded ones she sent her brother. She got the idea from a very particular green eyed boy, who sent her a letter._

_River,_

_I hope all is well with your classes. I went to the fair today and I found a trinket to match the one I gave you. I feel like you are here with me when I have it. Also your brother says to give you a hug and a wave. I hope to keep roaming free, but I think life may just catch up to me. Oh well, at least I've done enough living._

_Your friend, Bryndon._

She deciphered the code easy enough. He was reminding her to use the device when she got out to find him. He was in trouble (the wave in their coded language). He had done something to get him in deep with the Alliance, but he escaped. He thinks they will catch him soon. If they did, he didn't think he would live much longer. Now all there was to do was find him before that happened.

"Al, are the guards really necessary?" Bryndon asked, shaking his chains at his older brother.

"You escaped me once, Bryndon, I won't let it happen again. And don't call me Al, we aren't brothers."

"Sure we are, Al. And that ain't the only thing you are wrong about."

"What else could I possibly be wrong about?" –THUMP-

Albert turned to see his men on the ground and Bryndon's chains strung over them. He spotted him on a nearby ledge. Bryndon winked at him and ran. "That son of a bitch" Albert chased after his brother.

River practically sprinted through the city, following the increasing pulsing green light. Getting closer. She stopped, curious as to why it suddenly spiked, but he was nowhere around. A shadow flew over her and she looked up, catching a flutter of a coat and a tuft of blonde hair, jumping between buildings. "Bryndon!" she exclaimed, entering the building he had just landed on and started climbing the stairs.

He saw a very familiar face when he was jumping across the buildings, and smiled. _Well, this is going to get interesting._ He started circling back; timing it so he would land on the building the same time she got to the top.

She climbed to the top and burst onto the roof, seeing him landing back on the building with his brother in hot pursuit. When he landed he turned, caught his brother, and threw him across the roof to land near the edge, incapacitated. He sprinted to the other side and stopped short of the edge, then turned to face her. "River Tam" His voice was like music to her ears and she walked up to him slowly. Albert's men joined them on the roof and pointed weapons at him. "Wait" he yelled to them "I'll come, just let me say goodbye." They didn't drop their weapons, but they didn't come any closer. "River Tam. It has been a long time". He stroked her cheek and she nuzzled his palm, loving the feel of his flesh against hers.

"You jerk" she said, tearing up. "You said you would come back for me."

"I know I did, and I'm sorry. But things got a little heated" he looked up to the men "as you can see." He looked back at her. "River, this is only going to end in my death. Once you are out of the way, those men are going to shoot to kill. My brother's patience with me is worn thin, and the Alliance is offering their reward whether I'm alive or dead. He's been zombified River. Brainwashed."

She giggled at that. "Well then, I guess I'm not moving then." He smiled and kissed her passionately.

"I was afraid you would say that" He kissed her again. "I love you, River"

"I love you, too, Bryndon" He pushed her then, surprising her. She stumbled behind the line of Albert's men, and the blocked her off from him. She tried reaching for him, but she couldn't get through.

"Put your hands in the air, now!" One of them said, pointing the gun to him.

"Bryndon!" She screamed, trying desperately to reach him. He backed toward the edge slowly, raising his hands up.

He winked at her. "No power in the 'verse can stop me." He stepped off the edge of the building, falling back.

"NOOOOOOOOOO" She forced herself through the all of men and to the edge to see his body flat on the ground below, motionless.

Albert had recovered and walked up next to her, seeing the body. "Damn, well I guess I'm taking a cut in my reward. Let's go get him boys." River watched them gather up Bryndon's body and cart it away. She sat on the roof of the building and cried for a long time before going back to _Serenity._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The whispers of the night were keeping River up later than usual. At least, that is what she told the rest of the crew. _More nightmares_ she said when they commented on the dark circles under her eyes_ I'll be fine. _

She sat in the dark, listening to the silence of the ship, and read the letter that a tall, green eyed, blonde haired boy slipped to her during his last kiss.

_River,_

_I am not going to make it out of this chase alive. They want my 'justice' in the Alliance, and that doesn't sound like it's going to go well for me. I'm going to take my own life, better that then whatever torture they have in mind. I want you to keep living, keep fighting the good fight. I hope someday the Alliance with fall, with you at the head of the Army tumbling it. I did keep my promise, River. I came back for you, but you were already gone. That's how Albert found me. He was at the school looking for leads when I came. It's Ok though, you found me. I knew you would. I love you very much, River, I always have, long before that first kiss. Keep me in your dreams, and I will try my best to protect you from your nightmares. –Wink-_

_Love, yours,_

_Bryndon_

She cried every time she read it, but it was with a smile. "I love you too", she whispered into the night, closing her eyes and holding the note close, as if it were him. She would bring the Alliance down to its knees for him, and no power in the 'verse would stop her.


End file.
